Favorite Posts of 2011, Part 3

Revisiting some favorite posts of 2011 this week...

30 Days of Gratitude...Day 2 {Choir} ~ Choir Memories

Singing After the Storm ~ "And yet...the birds sing."

Seven Years Ago ~ Next week, it will be 8 years...where does the time go? 

                                                                                        "Many, O LORD my God,

       are the wonders you have done.

       The things you planned for us

       no one can recount to you;

       were I to speak and tell of them,

       they would be too many to declare."

Psalm 40:5

Love THAT Neighbor??? ~ Yes, even THAT one...

On Days When I Don't Wake Up Feeling Thankful ~ Because I so often need to be reminded...

Previous posts in this series: 

Favorite Posts of 2011, Part 1

Favorite Posts of 2011, Part 2

Favorite Posts of 2011, part 2

The 2nd installment in this week's "Favorite Posts of 2011" series...

Happy 76th Birthday, Lake Catherine! ~ One of our favorite spots celebrates 76 years...

So Why the Squirrels? ~ The story behind all the bushy-tailed critters around here...

Lessons from a Lakeside Getaway ~ A few observations from our spring travels...

It's All Good ~ Thoughts on a favorite and very familiar verse..."Our suffering is going to result in the praise and honor and glory of God!  And it is going to result, as I keep being reminded this week, in our being purified as gold is refined in fire.  And He gives 'joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory' in the midst of what we think of as the 'bad'.  What could be better than all that?!"

When God Becomes Real ~ Reflections on a John MacArthur quote..."And the  Apostle Paul said embrace your suffering, embrace the pain, because in it you're perfected, in it you are matured.  In it you learn to pray more intensely and you draw nearer to the Lord.  In it you're going to find grace poured into your life..."  

See Part 1 of Favorite Posts of 2011 here. 

focused on Glory...Owl

Those who know me well at all know that I love owls.  Birds in general fascinate me, but owls have a special place in my heart.  They just amaze me.  We have one (or more) living in our backyard.  This one (an Eastern Screech Owl, we think) let me get right up underneath her (him?  Not sure. :)) the other night.  Such an amazing little creature that points to God's glory in such an incredible way!

Late January Daybook...

(*Note:  People sometimes ask, "How do you have time to blog?"  And sometimes I reply, "One sentence at a time."  That's pretty much how this post has gone...a line or two throughout the day as I would sit down at the computer in between other activities.  I started it early Monday morning, hadn't quite finished it when I began falling asleep at my keyboard at 8:30 last night, and not quite 24 hours after I first started, I think I'm actually about to finish it. :))

FOR TODAY...January 30, 2011 

Outside my window...Sunny and cold now, with temperatures predicted to be near 70 this afternoon.  So loving this mild winter!  

I am thinking...about Francis Schaeffer, one of my great heroes, born 100 years ago today.   We actually saw him in person when we attended First Baptist, Dallas, on vacation when I was about 6...one of the highlights of my life!  God has used his books...and even more those of his wife, Edith, to impact my life greatly.  

I am thankful...that we are well this week, other than the lingering annoying cough still plaguing some of us.  This time last week we were beginning to drop like flies with a nasty bug that knocked us out for almost an entire week.  Thankful that we can actually get up and do chores and school again! 

In the kitchen...On the menu this week: HIOOTP Chicken, Saloon Beef Sandwiches, home-cooked burgers and fries, chili, and creamy tacos.  Can you tell it is comfort food week here? :-)

I am wearing...Warm, comfy Razorback fleece. :)

I am creating...Organized bookshelves!  

I am going...to take my mom out to lunch for her birthday as soon as she gets well.  We've now postponed twice.  Looking forward to her being well and being able to celebrate!

I am wondering...how the end of January got here so fast!  I feel like I blinked and lost a month somewhere. :)

I am reading...good stuff right now!  Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis (on loan from a friend), Beautiful Battle ~ A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, by Mary DeMuth (this just came out and I have been SO excited to read it!), Broken-Down House, by Paul David Tripp (on my Kindle...excellent book so far!), and the book of Nehemiah during my quiet time.  My current bedtime fiction is For Time and Eternity, by Allison Pittman.  

I am hoping...that the current mild winter weather holds out.  So thankful for a warmer winter after last winter's extreme, record-breaking cold!

I am looking forward to...a more normal, productive week this week, after a week of sickness in our house last week. 

Around the house...Catching up and decluttering this week.  

I am pondering...my 36 in 366 list and how best to get caught up after falling a bit behind for January.  Determined to "keep on plugging" and remember that what is important is *finishing well*, even if I get behind in the meantime. 


A favorite quote for today...""Niceness"—wholesome, integrated personality—is an excellent thing. …But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save."

One of my favorite things...Belated birthday presents! :)  I love matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls), and a friend found the *cutest* matryoshka measuring cups/spoons for my birthday. <3  I can't wait to find the perfect spot in the china cabinet for them today. :)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Taking my mom to lunch for her birthday, catching up on school and chores, normal church routine, finalizing plans for Ammah Grace's birthday (she will be EIGHT next week...how did THAT happen???) 

A peek into my day...

Not from today, but a recent random trip to the National Historic Site five minutes from our house.  I love mockingbirds, but somehow the ones in our yard always seem to evade the camera when I'm out.  This one was obviously quite used to people, as he sat and let me snap pictures without flinching. :)

For more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

Favorite Posts of 2011, Part 1

I've recently noticed various bloggers doing "best of 2011" posts, and thought perhaps that would be fun to do here, too.  In typical form, I had a hard time limiting my favorite posts from last year to just a few, so I've decided to do a week-long series...5 favorites from 2011 per day.  Hope you enjoy! (Full-size photos,full text, and additional photos can be seen in original posts by clicking on the links here.) 

focused on Glory...Moon ~ Sometimes we are so focused on the glory we want to see, we miss that which is right in front of us...

Happy Birthday, Peter ~ The boy's 14th birthday!

Thankful for the Scars ~ Thoughts on the truth of this quote..."In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me." ~ St. Augustine

Stay Thy Heart ~ In all circumstances, see Him in it all...

The Music and the Gifts ~ Memories, pencil scratches, and the gift of music...

Sunday Song ~ God and God Alone

Funny the way my mind works...or doesn't work, as the case may be...sometimes. :)  This morning John sang this song in church in place of our usual choir special, as Lyndel is on vacation.  As I sat and listened to the words, I thought, "I should do a blog post on that song."  Then later today, I was reviewing past blog posts in preparation for an upcoming project when I discovered that I actually did blog on that song earlier this year. :)  I didn't say much about it then, and don't think it needs many now...but I thought I would repost it here with (with some new pictures :)).   The words are so powerful...

God and God Alone

Steve Green

God and God alone,
created all these things we call our own;
from the mighty to the small,
the glory in them all
is God's and God's alone.

God and God alone
reveals the truth of all we call unknown.
And the best and worst of man,
won't change the Master's plan,
it's God's and God's alone.

God and God alone
is here to take the universe's throne.
Let everything that lives,
reserve its truest praise
for God and God alone.


God and God alone
will be the joy of our eternal home.
He will be our one desire,
our hearts will never tire,
of God and God alone.

(See video here.)

focused on {Everyday, Backyard} Glory

No special story for today's focused on Glory post.  Just some beautiful Eurasian Collared Doves in our backyard on a random day this past week.  I'm amazed at the glimpses of God's glory that are there to be seen every time our back door is opened.  I love the fact that even during weeks when I'm not able to go searching for God's glory with my lens, it's still there all around me.  

 

  

 
 

Be sure to see Tauna's focused on Glory post here.   She has a wonderful subject this week! :)